1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatuses for hinging the housings of portable foldable devices together, such as the housings of a foldable mobile phone.
2. Description of Prior Art
A typical mobile phone has two housings joined by a type of hinge that allows the housings to fold upon one another. Many such folding mobile phones have most of the electronics accommodated in one housing called the main housing, and only a few electronics accommodated in the other housing called the cover. Other such folding mobile phones have all the electronics in the main housing, with the cover serving only to cover a keypad and/or a display of the main housing.
FIG. 4 illustrates a hinge assembly used in a conventional mobile phone 6. The mobile phone 6 comprises a main housing 62 and a cover 64. The hinge assembly comprises two cams 50, 52, a spring 54, and a pair of posts 66 contained in the main housing 62. A channel 642 is defined through an end of the cover 64. The cam 52, the spring 54, and the cam 50 are fixed in the channel 642 in that order. The cams 50, 52 protrude out from the channel 642 and engage with the posts 66. When the cover 64 is rotated, the cams 50, 52 rotate along with the cover 64, and stop the cover 64 in a position where it maintains an angle of 180 degrees relative to the main housing 62. However, the hinge assembly comprises a variety of individual pieces that must be installed with the mobile phone when the mobile phone is assembled. This does not meet the growing trend for mobile phone manufacturers to use integrated one-piece hinge assemblies that can be quickly and easily press-fitted into mobile phone sub-assemblies during manufacturing. Manufacturing costs associated with non-integrated hinge assemblies are higher than those associated with one-piece hinge assemblies.
Thus, a hinge assembly having an integrated structure which can overcome the above-described disadvantage is desired.